Geissorhiza aspera

The abundance of bright star-like spring flowers of the blue sequin or sysie as Geissorhiza aspera is commonly known, is a joy to all where it blooms in nature.

This cormous perennial of the Iridaceae family with its erect and narrow, sword-shaped leaves replaces above-ground parts annually with the help of the winter rain. It grows in sandy soil on lower slopes and flats. The corm is asymmetrical, a feature shared with all the many species of the subfamily of Iridaceae called Crocoideae. The flower may be blue or violet, occasionally pink or white, with a short tube and characteristic brown-tipped bracts.

Pollination is done by a variety of insects, particularly monkey beetles. By October the flowering is done and seed is formed.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula coastally eastwards to around the Tradouw Pass and the west of the Little Karoo, northwards to the Gifberg and into the south of the Northern Cape.

The habitat is lower fynbos and renosterveld slopes where the soils are granitic, sandy or clayey. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2009; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).